Your belly is a heap of wheat, encircled with lilies (Song of Songs 7:2).
A “heap of wheat” probably represents the blessings of success (i.e., the result of a good harvest that was not stolen by plague or drought) and the blessing of wealth and sustenance (wheat was the major food source, and excess could be bartered or sold). This American Colony photo of women sifting what was taken between 1900 and 1920. Generative AI was used to colorize and extend the edges of this photo.
Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim (Song of Songs 7:4)
Three possibilities exist for the location of biblical Heshbon: Tel Hesban, Tel el-Umeiri, and Tel Jalul. Hesban preserves the name, which makes it a good candidate, but it lacks archaeological evidence for the time of the Conquest (cf. Num 21:25-27). The tell sits at 2,860 feet (872 m) above sea level. With 19 strata, dating from 1200 BC to AD 1500, Tell Hesban is a sizeable 50-acre (20-ha) tell that dominates the Medeba Plateau. It is 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Amman, 35 miles (56 km) east of Jerusalem, and 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Mount Nebo.
Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel (Song of Songs 7:5).
The Bible speaks much of the beauty of Mount Carmel. It is often pictured as the symbol of beauty and prosperity, and it is a frequent theme of the Prophets (Isa 33:9, Jer 46:18). It is also depicted as fruitful (Isa 35:1-2, Jer 50:19). A close parallel appears in Nahum, “He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Your head upon you is like Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple, and the blossoms of Lebanon fade” (Nah 7:5, NIV).
Your flowing locks are like purple threads (Song of Songs 7:5).
Purple was the most expensive color of cloth in antiquity. The comparison of the Shulammite’s hair to purple threads is suggestive of both great beauty and value. This sample of wool dyed with the ancient purple hue was photographed in the Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa.
The mandrakes give forth fragrance (Song of Songs 7:13).
Many ancient legends and myths developed regarding the mandrake, likely because of its root’s resemblance to human anatomy. Long believed to make the barren fertile, and even called the love apple, it is no surprise that the two biblical mentions of the mandrake are found in the story of Rachel and Leah and in the Song of Solomon. Recent studies have found that this narcotic indeed contains aphrodisiacs and drugs to help fertility, but its sedative content is far greater and counteracts those effects. This blossoming mandrake plant was photographed at Lachish.
